Archive for March, 2009

Every once in a while I’ll spotlight a designer from industry. This may be someone well know, not so well know, past, or present. The purpose is to become more acquainted with others in our field. Today’s designer, Yves Behar, is well know. I grabbed this excerpt from Wikipedia;

Upon founding fuseproject, Behar says his goals are threefold. Firstly, he wants to be a futurist, optimistic about the possibilities of new technology. Secondly, he’s a humanist, in that his designs seek to put the human experience first. And, finally, he’s a committed naturalist, promoting sustainable ways of living and consuming. That fusion, of technology with humanity, of brand and story, of all aspects of design, from product to advertising to online to point of purchase to user experience, is his central message. He states, “We have one foot in the consumer’s space and one foot in our client’s space, so we can act as the bridge, or the glue.” [3]

In 2005, a massive chandelier sculpted by Behar for Swarovski was installed at JFK airport. The piece is a loose tangle of organic curves with 55,000 crystals, and includes a motion detector triggering 2,000 blue light-emitting diodes that react to the movement of passengers [4].

He is the chief industrial designer of OLPC‘s XO laptop, signing on with the project in 2005 [3] and has been with the team since March of 2006 [5].

He designed and holds a stake in the highly acclaimed Bluetooth headset, Jawbone, which he calls a facial accessory[6].

He designed a set-top box for French broadcaster Canal Plus. “Le cube”, in black and white.

I get a lot of questions from readers wondering which schools offer Industrial Design degrees and how they rank with each other. Well I’m sorry to say I’m only familiar with a few, but I’m going to find out more. I’ll update this post with schools I learn about and include information about courses and student experiences. I hope to create a nice resource for those who are just starting their journey on becoming professional designers. Although I’m willing to take on the challenge by myself I wouldn’t mind having a little help from you. Please feel free to contribute, email me or post a comment regarding your school.

Rob Jensen

Currently, I blog at Art for Kids! If you have kids, come on over and check it out!

Ever since I can remember, I’ve been drawing cars. I grew up loving to draw, paint, take pictures, take things apart, and put things back together. I suppose, becoming an Industrial Designer was one of the simplest decisions I’ve ever made. Read more...